Chapter 160: Becoming a Son-in-law?

Pets are not allowed on the high-speed rail, so Xia Yu entrusted the black cat to the taxi driver he had used before, sending it to Yaoguang.

It’s for safety; who knows what could happen during the transportation process.

If taking a taxi wasn’t much less comfortable than the high-speed rail, Xia Yu would have traveled with the black cat.

The high-speed rail is faster than cars, so Xia Yu and Youxue arrived at the station first.

After exiting the platform, he immediately spotted Liu Manman, who was holding a long white flag, making her very easy to identify.

“Is this your younger sister?” Liu Manman looked Youxue up and down. “What instrument does she learn?”

“I haven’t learned any,” Youxue replied shyly in front of a stranger.

“With your brother’s talent, you must be talented too. You should quickly learn an instrument; it’s not too late now,” Liu Manman said.

Xia Yu glanced at her; he himself didn’t really have much talent—it was all thanks to An Siyao.

However, it might be good to let Youxue give it a try, considering her mother was Kong Hanyue, who had once been a child prodigy and was widely considered capable of leading the Hua School.

Although now Kong Hanyue had become someone who could only cry out, “Yuyu, help me!”

“Do you want to give it a try?” Xia Yu asked Youxue.

“Mm,” Youxue nodded. “I want to play the piano.”

“Why the piano? As someone from District One, you should learn the guzheng!” Liu Manman interjected.

“Don’t force her with moral pressure,” Xia Yu interrupted, giving Liu Manman a light chop on the head.

“Still, try the guzheng first. The guzheng is much better. Look how your brother and I used to play the guzheng—how handsome and elegant,” Liu Manman said while leading Xia Yu and Youxue toward a car.

“But I think An Siyao looks better,” Youxue murmured softly.

Liu Manman was left speechless.

Xia Yu smiled, ruffling Youxue’s hair.

“As a guzheng inheritor, An Siyao, who plays the piano, is our number one enemy!” Liu Manman complained about Xia Yu’s expression.

“Whatever. It’s fine if she doesn’t learn it. Spend more time having fun,” Xia Yu said.

“What kind of mindset is that…”

Liu Manman chattered nonstop all the way until the car stopped in front of the villa’s gate.

After getting out, Xia Yu looked at the villa in front of him. It was a two-story house slightly smaller than Kong Hanyue’s villa, but considering its location in Yaoguang, its value was much higher.

His prize money of 500,000 wasn’t even enough for the down payment on this small villa, let alone An Siyao’s nearly mansion-like residence.

Only by starting a business could he truly earn money; otherwise, he would just be a high-level office worker.

While practicing here, he could simultaneously register a company and develop a mobile app to make money.

An Tianfeng was a local power here, and with his help, things would be much easier.

Xia Yu planned accordingly.

“Grandma, we’re back!” As soon as she opened the door, Liu Manman shouted inside.

“Alright, alright.” Liu Ronglan came out from inside the villa, helping Youxue take off her backpack.

“Grandma,” Youxue felt even more nervous, not only facing strangers but now in a stranger’s house.

“You’re such a pretty little girl,” Liu Ronglan pinched Youxue’s cheek and smiled.

Her kind demeanor helped Youxue relax.

Calling the maid, Liu Ronglan showed Youxue and Xia Yu to their rooms.

Seeing that her room was next to her brother’s, Youxue felt relieved.

“You can play on the computer in the room first; I’ll take you out tonight,” Xia Yu said, placing his bag in the room before returning to the living room.

“Come with me,” Liu Ronglan led him to a dedicated practice room.

Inside the practice room stood a piano and three guzhengs, and in the wall cabinets along the walls were many other instruments.

Because of the large number of instruments, the room felt somewhat cramped, but there was no way around it.

“Let me first see how you’re doing with the guzheng—whether you’ve regressed at all,” Liu Ronglan pointed at the guzheng and said to Xia Yu.

Xia Yu glanced at Liu Manman, who turned her head away. It seemed she hadn’t told Liu Ronglan about the previous snow-viewing competition, likely because she had lost.

Sitting down in front of the guzheng, Xia Yu put on finger picks, stretched his fingers a bit, and began to play.

As the prelude started, Liu Manman couldn’t help but turn her head to look at Xia Yu.

What he was playing now was the ultimate masterpiece of the Hua School—Ending E.

Liu Manman watched Xia Yu’s finger speed, feeling that rather than getting faster, his fingers had actually slowed down.

However, this slower pace made the rhythm of the piece even more distinct, making the entire piece more expressive.

Compared to this current performance of Ending E, the one Xia Yu played during the final competition seemed somewhat chaotic.

But if one hadn’t heard this current version, no one would have realized that the final version of Ending E during the competition had not yet reached its peak.

Even at her prime, Liu Ronglan couldn’t match Xia Yu’s current level of musical expressiveness.

Liu Manman clenched her fists so tightly that her fingernails hurt her palms.

Is this what it means to be a genius?

Five minutes later, Xia Yu struck the final note, and its lingering vibration lasted long in the ears of Liu Ronglan and Liu Manman.

“Bravo!” Liu Ronglan excitedly stood up, her gaze toward Xia Yu becoming complex. “In just three months, your technique has improved to this level.”

According to the ranking system Xia Yu himself created, Liu Ronglan was at the peak of Level 5, and due to her age, she had no chance of advancing to Level 6, while Xia Yu was currently at the middle stage of Level 5.

Liu Ronglan thought:

With such terrifying talent, he could already rival An Siyao, couldn’t he?

Perhaps he could elevate the Hua School’s guzheng to the same level as the Northern and Southern schools.

After a moment of contemplation, she said to Xia Yu, “Yuyu, would you consider becoming my grandson-in-law?”

“I refuse,” Xia Yu replied without hesitation.

He had no intention of becoming a son-in-law, and besides, his goal wasn’t Liu Manman.

“Grandma, what are you saying!” Even Liu Manman, who usually didn’t know how to maintain personal boundaries, felt somewhat embarrassed and annoyed.

She looked at Xia Yu again. “You don’t have to refuse so decisively. Give me a little face!”

“Haha, I was just kidding, just kidding,” Liu Ronglan brushed the matter aside.

She told Xia Yu, “Your skill has reached this level, and I really have nothing more to teach you. From now on, you can just practice on your own.”

Her expression was somewhat dispirited. Originally, she didn’t need to come to Yaoguang; the only reason she had followed them was to continue teaching Xia Yu the guzheng. She hadn’t expected that Xia Yu had already surpassed the need for her instruction.

It was joyful for a teacher to have a talented student, but if the student was too talented, it could also make the teacher feel defeated.

As Liu Ronglan pondered, Liu Manman discussed the upcoming competition with Xia Yu.

“We can at least perform two pieces. At the event, I’ll play the guzheng with you while An Siyao responds with the violin for one piece. When An Siyao plays the piano, you and I can respond with the xiao flute. If we can get another piece, I’ll talk to An Siyao to let us perform a guzheng and xiao duet.”

“Oh, right,” Liu Manman added, “I still don’t know how well you play the xiao flute.”

During the snow-viewing event previously, Xia Yu had told her that his xiao flute playing was definitely better than hers.

“Play ‘Moonlight Shadow’ for me to hear,” Liu Manman requested.

“I can’t,” Xia Yu replied. Recently, time had been tight, and Liu Manman hadn’t mentioned needing the xiao flute, so he had only learned one piece.

For Xia Yu, it wasn’t a big issue—he could learn it in a few days. But for Liu Manman, who didn’t know Xia Yu’s capabilities, this was shocking.

“You can’t play it?” Liu Manman blinked in disbelief.

“I only know one piece,” Xia Yu continued.

Liu Manman felt she had been tricked by Xia Yu: “If you don’t know how to play the xiao flute, why did you say you could before! I’ve already told An Siyao about it!”

She glared at Xia Yu angrily: “Which piece do you know? ‘Two Little Rabbits’?”

“Two Little Rabbits” was a children’s song in this world.

Without answering, Xia Yu picked up a xiao flute from a nearby shelf.